Innisfail's new council has rolled up its sleeves and is ready to face its mandate.
The new council – led by Mayor Brian Spiller - was formally sworn in last night at its first regular meeting following the Oct. 21 municipal election.
With deliberations set to start for the 2014 town budget, the new town council must negotiate as best it can through a short learning curve and prepare to address the community's most important issues – shortage of industrial lands, the third and final phase of the Downtown Revitalization Project and the replacement of the antiquated Autumn Glen Lodge.
“Before we can do anything about Autumn Glen Lodge we have to come to an equitable agreement between all our partners and the provincial government on how we are going to fund a new Autumn Glen Lodge,” said Spiller.
“And one municipality alone can not make that decision. Even though Autumn Glen Lodge is situated in Innisfail it is not owned by the Town of Innisfail but owned by the six municipalities as a partnership. We have to work with them to come up with an equitable solution.”
Spiller said lobbying the provincial government, which to date is unwilling to contribute any monies to the planned $22-million replacement facility, must continue.
“The provincial government does not want to put up any capital costs towards a new one. Zero. It really puts the onus on the six municipalities,” said Spiller. “It is a downloading of services the provincial government used to provide and now the towns have to provide it.”
As for the upcoming budget, Spiller, who just completed his first and only term as a town councillor, said council would once again aim for a zero per cent tax increase.
“But in order to keep services to the level they are, and services do cost more every year, you don't want to cut any services in order to create a zero per cent tax increase but if we can hold the tax increase at zero or at the cost of living that would be very nice,” said Spiller.
Meanwhile, council is quickly getting to work with its formidable agenda since being elected just a week earlier.
Spiller, and incumbent councillors Mark Kemball and Heather Taylor will be joined by newcomers Gavin Bates, Danny Rieberger and Doug Bos. Patt Churchill, a former town councillor before the 2010 election when she ran unsuccessfully for mayor against Jim Romane, was also elected to council on Oct. 21.
The official vote count from the Oct. 21 municipal election showed that 1,473 Innisfailians, including advanced and special ballots, came out to vote – 25 per cent of the town's total 5,676 eligible voters. That is down from the 2010 municipal election when about 33 per cent of eligible voters cast ballots.
A big reason for the lower voter turnout, said town officials, was that the mayor's position was acclaimed. Romane stepped down after one term and Spiller was the only candidate who signed nomination papers for mayor on nomination day last month.
The vote count, which was official on Oct. 25, showed that Kemball had the highest number of votes among the nine council candidates with 1,052. Bates came second with 918, followed closely by Taylor who had 916. Rieberger came fourth with 847 votes, while Churchill had 839. Bos grabbed the last council seat with 759 votes.
“I am just really happy that I made it. I'm glad people have faith in me and I hope I can stand up to their expectations,” said Rieberger on election night.
Meanwhile, the vote totals of the elected council members were followed by Jodi Desjardins who came in seventh with 659 votes. Jim Humble had 598 while Jack Kline finished with 449.
“I am thrilled. I am looking forward to getting these next four years underway. Let's get at it,” said Kemball, adding he was surprised he was top vote-getter. “The field was great. I think we have some great people and I am looking forward to working with the new people.”
It was the second attempt at a council seat for Doug Bos, who narrowly missed being elected in 2007 when he wound up in seventh place. He said he looking forward to the challenge.
“I am excited that people thought that I might be able to help,” said Bos.
Bates said he was surprised to finish as high as he did but added he worked hard in the campaign to win the support of voters.
“Going door to door is what did it because I ran into so many people who said ‘You are the first or the second who has come out here and I will vote for you',” said Bates.
Taylor said the election victory is a springboard for her to work hard on the issues that matter most to her.
“The new Autumn Glen is going to be one of my biggest focuses. That is going to be a tough road. We know we have to do it,” said Taylor on election night. “The other thing I would like to see move forward is something for our children that are falling through the cracks. We've had a couple of proposals and we're looking at that.”
Churchill said fiscal responsibility is her number 1 priority.
“You look for efficiencies, and try and balance your budget. Our water and sewer rates are going to be a big issue and we are going to have to mitigate that as much as we can,” said Churchill. “Just being responsible – spending every dollar like it is your own and taking it out of your own pocket, which in theory you are. That is how you do it.”
